Always
by GlitterGirl123
Summary: They broke up because Callie needed a family more than a boyfriend. But no matter what, they will always love each other. BRALLIE TWO-SHOT.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there, The Fosters fanatics! I just wanted to try to write a Brallie Fic because their adorableness/perfection made it hard for me not to. I mean, I know she and Jude needs a family but on the other hand, they're in love and I'm just so conflicted and I don't even know anymore. \O/**

**P.S.: I don't even know where this came from. I read a couple spoilers and BAM! I wrote this on my iPod in two hours.**

* * *

Brandon finds himself looking at her often. Not in a stalker-like way where he knows her every move. Not in an analyzing way as if she was a science experiment.

No, he just _looks_ at Callie.

He marvels on her physical beauty, even though there's so much more to her than that. How her eyes light up at the sight of her younger brother, Jude, being safe and happy. How Jesus' cracks and jokes makes her roll her eyes. How Mariana's antiques bring an amused expression on her face. How she's grown more accepting to Stef and Lena's love.

How she still seems to stare at him with such longing, such want, even after their breakup when no one's around that it takes every ounce of his will power to not shove her against the wall and kiss the living grits out of her.

But he can't.

Because Callie is Brandon's soon-to-be sister after all.

He never thought he would find myself hating on a word so intensely.

Sister. Oh, how that word disgusts Brandon.

After all, you can't to be in love with the girl who's supposed to be your sister. And said sister can't return those feelings one hundred percent.

Nope. It shouldn't be that way. But it is. And he has to suck it up and deal with it.

It's hard though, when they lived under the same roof. When her bedroom is literally across the hall.

Mariana is his sister. Callie, however, is anything but.

Callie Jacob is the girl who Brandon Foster had the misfortune to fall in love with.

* * *

"Callie, love, I can't give you driving lessons today," Stef announces apologetically. "Captain Roberts gave me an extra shift."

"Oh, that's cool. There's always tomorrow," she replies with a wave of her hand. Brandon always loved how understanding she is, unlike other teenagers who would've whined like no tomorrow.

"Nonsense. B, can you help her?" It took a while for Stef and Lena to trust them to be alone in a room ever since the kiss at the wedding and their failed attempt at a relationship.

Of course he'll help her. He'll do absolutely anything for her. _Anything_. "Sure."

* * *

"Alright, so just put the car on reverse and pull back slowly," Brandon instructs. Callie does exactly what he tells. "Good! Now put it on drive." Again, she follows his instructions. "You're doing great, Calls," he praises, using the nickname only he could use.

"Thanks," she says, giving him that smile she reserves for Jude and himself. He couldn't help but look at her again. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, just looking."

"At what?"

"You."

Silence. Brandon curses himself out. He should've kept his mouth shut.

"Brandon…" she whispers. "We can't. Not again. The adoption's getting finalized in a few months."

"I know that, it's just…"

She takes a sharp breath and clutches the wheel so hard her knuckles turn even paler, if possible. "Me too," she admits shakily.

* * *

They graduated today, and Stef and Lena decide to take the whole family out for dinner at a fancy restaurant. Brandon doesn't know whether to be excited or upset. Excited that he'll be attending Julliard soon (with Callie, so that's definitely a huge bonus) or upset that he'll be away from the rest of his, no, _their_ family in another state. He looks for Callie because they're going to be late if they don't get to school soon and finds her in the bathroom, trying to reach back to pull the zipper of her navy blue dress, which looks quite _fitting_ on her, if you know what he means.

She jumps in surprise at the sudden intrusion. "Ever heard of knocking?" she suggests sarcastically.

He ignores the comment and gets straight to the point. "We're gonna be late."

"Sorry, Mariana forced me into this stupid dress and I can't zip it up." No wonder why she's dressed like this, Brandon should've known this was Mariana's handy work.

"I'll do it," he offers, pushing her hair to the side and zipping it up. He lets his fingers brush against her bare back and she shivers slightly. Callie turns to him, that same gaze of longing on her face, mirroring the expression on his own. They get into an staring competition and start leaning in slowly, painfully slow.

Her eyes flutter shut and so does his when Stef yells at them to get down now before they leave without them. Brandon would've preferred that but instead takes Callie's wrist lightly and leads her down the stairs. She pulls it back before anyone else could see.

Some things will never change.

* * *

Callie finds herself crying, tears silently streaming down her face. It's been months since _she_ herself ended things with Brandon months ago and what happens a few hours ago? She was a millisecond away from grabbing his hair and kissing him senseless after he does something as innocent as zipping up a fucking dress. She was pathetic.

She isn't stupid, this is way more than just hormones running wild.

He loves her. She loves him as well, though she hides it a little better (which honestly isn't much).

They're in love.

She knows that. He knows that. Hell, the entire house probably knows. The lingering hugs, the smiles, the stares, god, the _stares_. A blind person could see they're in love. It's that obvious.

It's plain and simple, yet so complicated.

She loves the Fosters, she really does, but she can't keep torturing herself like this.

It has to be done. She loves this family and she wants to be a part of it.

But she can't get adopted.

She finds the courage to tell Stef and Lena on a Saturday evening when Jude is at Connor's house, Mariana's out shopping, Jesus is at wrestling practice and Brandon at a piano lesson.

She sits on the couch with them and takes a deep breath. "Stef? Lena? I need to talk to you."

"Of course, love. Do you need anything?" Stef asks, a worried look on her face.

"No. It's about the adoption."

"Is something wrong?" Lena questions, a worried look on her face.

Callie starts tearing up but forces the tears to stay inside. "I can't get adopted."

"What? Why? Did we do something?" Stef drills, looking panicked.

She vigorously shakes her head, brown hair flying everywhere. "No, not that all. Look, I consider you both as my moms and Mariana and Jesus as my brother and sister. But I just can't get adopted, not when…"

"Sweetie, is this because of Brandon?" Lena says softly. She nods slowly, the tears finally breaking free.

"I'm so sorry," she sobs, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. "I tried everything, really, I did. I can't get adopted when I'm in love with your son." She buries her head between her knees, sobs wracking her body. This is the first time anyone besides Jude has seen her this broken.

This is also the first time where she admitted that she's in love with Brandon out loud. Sure, she confessed it to herself after weeks of denial but Brandon doesn't even know it (or maybe he does and he's waiting for her to say it out loud) and here she is, professing her feelings to these two wonderful women who would've been her moms if only Brandon wasn't in the picture.

"Oh, love," Stef mumbles, sitting beside her. "It's not your fault." The blonde takes Callie into her arms and the teen lets her be comforted for once. She has no energy to push Stef away. She doesn't even want to. "We understand."

"You'll always be our daughter whether you get adopted or not," Lena soothes, sitting on her other side and stroking her hair. "I said this to Mariana and I'll say it to you. DNA or a piece of paper don't make a family. Love does."

Right then, Callie knew she found the family she was yearning to have for the past seven years. Whether she's legally adopted or not, these two women are her moms.

The realization makes her cry even harder, the hardest she's ever done in…forever, you could say.

* * *

**So…how was it? Sorry if this is OOC by the way. I think the ending sucks but oh well.**

**When I watched the ending of House and Home, A.K.A. the Brallie hug, I won't lie, I might of died of feels. But honestly? Even if I didn't ship them, I'd be 'aww'ing at my T.V. screen. Because like Maia herself said, I don't see them as foster siblings, I see them as two people that fell in love (I swear she said that in an interview).**

**Then again, I also think their relationship is dangerous.**

**But that's the amazing message of this fantastic show: love is love. In all shapes and forms (family, friendship, romantic, etc.), you don't get to choose who you love. I mean, look at Stena. They fought for their love despite many obstacles and I admire them for that even if they're fictional characters. It's the same with them. I don't see them as lesbians, I see them as a couple who love each other.**

**I don't only watch the show for them. I watch it because it's brilliant. I love how it raises awareness in the LGTB community, the message, the acting, etc.**

**Brallie is just the icing of the cake.**

**So…yeah. That's my opinion of Brallie (and the show I suppose). I don't know why I gave it.**

**…But now that I think of it, what's yours? I'd love to hear it!**

**Oh, and before I forget, REVIEW PLEASE! Whether it be 'I luv it!', constructive criticism or even flames (I don't really care TBH).**

**Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**_I am the worst person on this entire planet. You people have every single right to stab me with a knife as many times as you please._**

**_I. Am. So. Sorry._**

**_Explanation of my absence: school. I'm not doing so well. I failed two major subjects. I spent most of my time studying my ass off._**

**_This chapter was hard for me to write. I wanted it to have enough depth and not make it look overly cheesy. I sincerely hope I did a decent job._**

* * *

"Before you leave, Lena and I have an announcement," Stef announces, stopping all the kids (except for Callie since she's at her guitar lesson) short of leaving. "Callie…has decided that she doesn't wanna get adopted by us."

Silence.

Until Jude decides to speak. "What?! I can't believe this!" he exclaims, then turns to Brandon, anger clear in his eyes. "This is all your fault. You're no better than Liam," he spits venomously before furiously running away and stomping up to the room he shares with Jesus.

"Honey, as much as I would love to stay, I gotta go before Captain Roberts bites me in the ass for being late," Stef says reluctantly.

"Go. I'll take care of it." Stef pecks her wife goodbye and hurries off to work.

"If anyone else wants to yell at me then go ahead," he mutters, burying his head in his hands.

Brandon feels awful. He pretty much ruined Callie's only chance of ever getting a family ever again.

"We're not mad at you, B. You had no idea," Lena says softly.

"I'll pass," Mariana replies. "I'm kinda sad but I still consider Callie as my sister, adoption or not."

"Don't feel bad," Jesus adds. "Jude's a thirteen year old ball of freaking sunshine, he can't stay mad for long."

"Well, he just burst into flames," Brandon retorts. He felt sick.

Jude is right. This is all his goddamn fault.

* * *

Stef returns home in the evening, greeting Lena with a kiss. "Hey, honey. Is Jude still in his room?"

"Yeah," Lena sighs. "He only came down once for dinner and ran back upstairs."

"And the others?"

"Jesus and Mariana are doing their homework, Callie's also locked herself in and Brandon's listening to music."

"I'll talk to Jude, you take Brandon. We can talk to Callie tomorrow. She needs time to herself."

* * *

Stef finds Jude sneering at the wall. "You know, glaring at Jesus' poster isn't gonna change anything," she says, trying to lighten the mood.

Jude smiles for half a second before going back to his previous expression.

"Why?" he asks suddenly. "Why would she choose Brandon over me? Did he make her refuse the adoption so they could run away together or something?" he seethes.

"Jude, you have every right to be mad but Brandon had no idea about this. It was all on Callie."

"How could she be so selfish? Did she even think of me when she chose to have feelings for Brandon?" he whispers. Stef's heart cracked into a million pieces by hearing how broken he sounded.

"I don't think you have a right to call her selfish, love. Callie already thinks she's being selfish."

"…Really?"

"She was bawling her eyes out and called herself selfish."

"Oh." A pause. "But they're only teenagers. How can you know you're in love when you're seventeen?"

"That's what I thought at first. But Jude, if you really look at the way they look at each other…there's no age of consent for it. She feels horrible, Jude, it wasn't an easy decision for her to make."

"Then why did she do it?"

"That's something you need to ask Callie on your own. But remember this, Jude. She's your sister, not a miracle worker." Stef sighs. "Look, Jude, I was a little upset, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But then, I remembered something Lena said to Gretchen when she came to visit."

"What was it?"

"She said that we don't need a piece of paper to prove our love and commitment to each other. It's the same thing here. We don't need to adopt Callie to call her our daughter."

"You mean that?" he whispers, looking at her with hopeful eyes.

Stef smiles and kisses his forehead. "Yes. We love both you and Callie so much. Don't you ever forget that."

* * *

"Brandon? Honey?" Lena calls out softly. Her words fall out on deaf ears. Brandon's music is so loud that she could hear it blasting from his headphones. She slowly walks up to him and touches his shoulder softly.

He jumps in surprise and takes his headphones off. "What is it?"

"I'm just checking up on you."

"Well, Callie's only chance at a family is gone thanks to me and Jude hates my guts. I feel peachy," he says sarcastically.

"First of all, watch the attitude," Lena reprimands. She understands that Brandon is feeling a lot of guilt but she refuses to be the one who he takes it out on. "Second of all, Jude is too sweet to hate anyone. Yes, he's mad but he doesn't hate you."

"I beg to differ."

"Brandon, he's thirteen. He doesn't know how to deal with the fact that his only blood-related sibling, his sister, just refused to be adopted. And speaking of Callie not getting adopted, she's still part of this family, okay? Adoption or not."

"I know…I just feel guilty. Like it's my fault. I didn't mean to fall for her, I really didn't. I tried so hard to forget about her after she chose to get adopted over being with me but it didn't work at all."

"Honey, you have nothing to feel guilty about. When I first met your mom, I was smitten. But then I found out she was married and started feeling bad for being the cause for breaking up a marriage. But it all straightened out in the end."

"I know what happened," Brandon says, not maliciously, but more like in a way for Lena to make her point.

"Look, what I'm trying to say is if you truly love Callie, and if she truly loves you back then it'll all work itself out. And I promise you, Jude won't be mad at you forever. Just let him process everything."

* * *

Someone knocks into Brandon's door while he's doing (or attempting to finish) his homework. He opens it to find Jude, awkwardly shuffling his feet and looking down at the ground. "Can I come in?"

Brandon frowns in confusion, but opens the door wider. "Sure."

Jude walks in, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry, for what I said. For calling you another Liam. It's not your fault…Callie choosing to not get adopt—"

"Yes, it is."

"No, let me finish. It really isn't. Callie made the choice on her own and you had nothing to do—

"But I influenced her decision."

"If you interrupt me one more time then I will smash that piano across your head," Jude threatens. Brandon's eyebrows shoot up. Jesus must be rubbing off on him big time. "I get it, Brandon. How much you love my sister."

"You do?" he asks, looking confused.

"Yeah. I do. I don't _like_ it, but I understand it. So don't mess this up with her."

"Oh…thanks, I guess?"

"No problem. And Brandon? If you break her heart then I'll kill you. Am I clear?"

"Crystal."

* * *

Callie was strumming random notes on her guitar when the door opens slowly and in comes Jude. "Hey."

"Hi…listen, baby, I'm so sorry, I—"

"It's fine. I just want to know _why_."

"Why what?"

"Why you refused the adoption. I need…I need an answer."

Callie beckons her little brother to come closer and he does so, sitting right beside her. "I was torturing myself, Jude. Not because I wanted what I couldn't have, but because I wasn't allowing myself with what I _could_ have."

"And by that you mean Brandon?"

"…Yes. But Jude, my feelings for Brandon doesn't change the love I have for you. It didn't falter or disappear one bit. I love you both equally, okay? It's just a different kind with Brandon."

That's all he wanted to hear. That Callie will always love him no matter what. He smiles widely and hugs Callie tightly. "I love you," Callie whispers repeatedly, stroking his head affectionately.

"I love you, too, sis." He breaks off the hug after a long moment. "I have a question, though."

"Shoot."

"Do you love Brandon?"

She's done with the running away and the lying. So she decideds to face the facts and to be honest. "…Yeah, I do. I really do."

"How does it feel?" Jude asks suddenly, eyeing her curiously.

"How does it _feel_?" Callie is at a loss of words. She never thought about how it makes her feel, she only knew that she loves him. Nothing beyond that. "Uh…it feels…good. Really good. Great, even. Like I'm on the top of the world," she attempts to put ito words.

She can't just describe it. It's just _there_.

* * *

Callie takes a deep breath and slowly twists the doorknob. She quietly goes into Brandon's room to find him playing the piano, emerged in his own little world. She clears her throat slightly to make her presence known. He finally looks up to see Callie standing there. "Hey," she says hesitantly.

"Hi," he replies, not knowing what else to say.

"Can we talk?" Callie asks, biting her lip.

"Sure." She sits beside him on the piano bench. They're way too close yet so far away. Brandon often wonders how the hell Callie has the power to screw up his mind so easily.

"So I take it you so heard what happened?"

"Do we have to start like this?"

"Okay, fine. You know why I refused it—"

He cuts her off. "I want to hear you say it."

Callie looks surprised. "What's there to admit?"

"Do you really wanna go around in circles for the rest of our lives?"

"Fine. I did it because…because I still love you and I'm putting myself in agony by avoiding it."

Brandon looks at her again. _There it is again with the looking_.

She said it out loud.

Callie Jacob actually admitted to being in love with him. She feels for him just as strongly as Brandon did for her.

He never felt so estatic in his life.

"I'm not ready for a boyfriend, though. I have so many issues I need to sort before or else this is will be like some sort of constant tug-a-war. And I 'm pretty sure that neither one of us wants that. I don't love myself enough to let you love me." And there goes his hope.

Or has it?

It's not like Callie's saying that they can never be. It's more the fact that needs time to herself.

He just needs to be patient.

And he's okay with that.

"What are you saying?" Brandon asks.

"Since this sibling thing will never work out, then be there for me…not as a brother or as a boyfriend. Be there for me as a friend. I need to sort myself out before getting into anymore relationships." A pause. "These feelings won't leave anytime soon so just…just wait for me."

Brandon thinks for a second. Would he really be willing to wait for God knows how long for her when he could just move on and let her be adopted, which would make everyone happy?

He then mentally smacks himself for even having to ask himself such a stupid question. Of course he would. In a weird sense, she refused the adoption for _him_. So he'd repay her by waiting for her.

"I'd wait for as long as I need to."

That did it for Callie. She threw her arms around Brandon and pulled him into a tight hug. He returned the embrace just as tightly, closing his eyes and just making the most out of this moment.

Yep. She's definitely worth the wait.

* * *

_**Thoughts? I think I'll end the story here. UNLESS I get enough requests to make one last chapter of how I image Brallie getting back together (it'd be short, like 500-600 words). Your choice. You gotta tell me, though. Or else I won't know.**_

_**Review. Please. They make me happy. I hope you guys can forgive me for posting this like…one or two months later.**_


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